1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to computer chassis that house computer components. More particularly, the present invention relates to a flexible computer chassis that is adapted to receive a number of different types of computer components, which have different configurations and sizes (e.g., baseboards of different sizes, peripheral and processor fans having various configurations, and different power supplies).
2. Art Background
An essential component of any computer system is the computer chassis that houses all the other computer components. As technology advances, computer users desire greater speed and computing power for the ever advancing software applications that demand greater memory, and processing speed. In the past, the new memory requirements and processing power, required by these new applications, could be satisfied by either upgrading the baseboard (also known in the industry as a "motherboard") with additional memory cards or by swapping processors.
However, as software applications demand further processing power and memory (e.g., real time processing, multimedia application, and teleconferencing), many users have found it more practical to completely replace their baseboard with a new baseboard, which is integrated with a new and more powerful processor, and additional memory and Input/Output (I/O) subsystems. As the cost of new baseboards (e.g., pre-configured central processing unit (CPU) with memory and I/O subsystems) has decreased, the feasibility and desirability of simply replacing an old baseboard with a new baseboard have increased.
Prior art computer chassis suffer numerous disadvantages. First, prior art chassis are designed and manufactured to house only one baseboard having a predetermined size and one predetermined configuration of computer components associated with that baseboard (e.g., fixed mounting locations for I/O and CPU fans, fixed support mechanism for add-in I/O or memory cards, and fixed locations in the I/O panel for allowing connection of the baseboard with other computer devices). When a computer user wishes to replace an old baseboard with a new baseboard, he is required to purchase a new chassis that can house the new baseboard and associated components. This need to replace the computer chassis greatly increases the cost to the user. This excess cost is multiplied by the number of times a computer user upgrades from one baseboard having a predetermined size to another baseboard having a different size (i.e., a baseboard having larger dimensions).
Another disadvantage of prior art computer chassis from a computer manufacturer's point of view is that a manufacturer must re-machine a new chassis whenever the configuration or size of the components of a computer system changes. For example, when a new baseboard has increased dimensions (e.g. length and width), a computer manufacturer incurs substantial costs to re-tool and to re-machine an existing chassis so that it can adapt and house the new baseboard with its associated computer components. This additional cost to the manufacturer is passed down to the computer users, further increasing the cost of the computer system.
It can be seen from the foregoing that it would be desirable to provide a flexible computer chassis that can be adapted to receive computer components of varying sizes and configurations.